Delhi: Complaint Filed Against Twitter India Head, Accused Of Promoting Hate Speech About Hindu Religion

The advocate has accused Twitter of deliberately promoting hate speech about the Hindu religion on its platform. He sought an FIR against all accused persons, urging Delhi Police to arrest them.

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New Delhi: A complaint has been lodged with the Delhi Police Cyber Cell against Twitter India's Managing Director Manish Maheswari and a non-profit organisation for allegedly spreading communal hatred.

Advocate Aditya Singh Deshwal has filed the complaint and it addressed to DCP Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police seeking registration of an FIR against Twitter Communications India Private Ltd, Manish Maheshwari, MD, Twitter India, Shagufta Kamran, Public Policy Manager of Twitter India as well as Armin Navabi and Susanna Macintrye, the founder and CEO respectively of Republic Atheist.

The advocate has raised the issue over a picture of Goddess Kali shared by the Atheist Republic Twitter account, stating that tweet was not just abusive but has been posted with the motive to cause annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred and ill will in society.

"It would also be not out of place to mention here that these posts have been put by the said user deliberately, to outrage the religious feelings of Hindus to insult our religious beliefs," the advocate stated as quoted by news agency ANI.

In his complaint, the advocate added, "Twitter which is a microblogging website/platform in connivance with Armin Navab and Atheist Republic has been showing this blasphemous content from July 2011. The user profile of Atheist Republic is full of such blasphemous content about Hindu Religion and other religions".

"Twitter on the other hand, as a Significant Social Media Intermediary (SSMN) has taken no steps to remove such content but in a blatant violation of Indian laws has been acting as an accomplice to the crime and showing such blasphemous and insulting content," he further alleged.

The advocate has accused Twitter of deliberately promoting hate speech about the Hindu religion on its platform, which is a violation of provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 in the light of section 79 of Information Technology Act, 2000.

He went on to claim that Manish Maheshwari and Shagufta Kamran have deliberately not taken any action to remove such objectionable content from the platform even after passing of one month, with the intention of promoting communal hatred and disturbing the social tranquillity in the country.

The advocate has sought an FIR to be lodged against all the accused persons named in his complaint, urging Delhi Police to arrest them to prevent further commission of the offence.